Summer Continues

Happy September!  September is always a month of highs and lows.  Highs of getting kids back to school and getting our lives back into comfortable routines.  Lows of having to say goodbye to kids who have been by our sides for 2 months.  Making us laugh, shooting us with Nerf guns, frustrating us when we are trying to work, and generally just making the summer FUN.  I am so thankful for these long lasting summer months.  September and October have been staying warmer and it's wonderful.  Pauline and I have very limited time in the sunshine during the wedding season.  We are busy with clients, tables, chairs, linens, cleaners, dishes, ordering, inventory...you get the idea.  So having the kids with us is a small benefit to running our own  company.  We can bring kids along, we can let them see what we do, and sometimes they can even help.  My son is excited to run Abacus Event Rental when he grows up, he talks about all his plans all the time.  Who knows if this will happen, but it's entertaining to hear him dream out loud.

Abacus Event Rental was after all my dream.  I wanted to have my own event company and run it with integrity.  To take care of clients and their dreams and visions.  It's a funny thing with dreams, you never really know what to do with them when they are happening.  You keep dreaming about them every day and working towards them even when you are right in the middle making them happen.  Dreams push you past your comfort, and test you in every way imaginable.

This past weekend Pauline made a dream come true for John and Stacey.  Pauline worked tirelessly to create a special day for them, complete with an outdoor tent dressed with twinkle lights and lanterns that she personally decorated.  The tables were dressed with sunflowers and the sun was shining on the property.  The wedding showcased what Pauline is all about that most people do not get to see.  She is all about taking the time to make something great for someone else.  I never would have imagined someone so amazing becoming the biggest part of my event rental dream.  The person I rely on, work with, cry with, and count on for all things Abacus.  She makes my dream bigger, better, and she will do this for each bride that she works with every single time.  Congratulations John and Stacey!

As fall continues and school pushes forward, take a minute to focus on your dreams.  What are they, how can you attain them, what's the first baby step, what's the second???  Sit with your children and dream, let them in on your dreams and see where the conversation takes you.  While summer may get stolen from Pauline and I, our dreams will never be taken and so through everything we keep dreaming bigger and praying harder and walking taller.  We have had many people help us along the way and it reminds us that we need to always be helping others who cross our paths.  Call us, we will encourage you, laugh with you, give you advice, help with your budgets, and help you enjoy your continuing summer!

Technology and Event Planning

Two nights ago I put my husband and my 12 year old daughter on an airplane headed for the Dominican Republic.  Yesterday I turned 37 years old.  My birthday was spent stacking, loading, unloading, setting, and re-stacking 250 chairs for a beautiful couple.  This may seem like an interesting/terrible way to spend a birthday.  It wasn't.  I woke up in the morning, had my coffee, and got to visit an incredible park I didn't even know existed.  I love that part of the event business.  I love seeing new places and new venues and then seeing those venues transformed into a personal space with colors and decor each couple has chosen to make the day uniquely their own.

Setting up all the chairs and delivering them also took my mind off the fact that I was not able to spend my birthday with my family.  I was so surprised when I received a phone call from my husband last night wishing me a happy birthday.  Apparently a member of their travel group hooked up a Magic Jack and they were able to call my son and I.  I cannot express how wonderful this surprise meant to me.  My daughter has never traveled out of the country and I always thought when she did it would be with me by her side - I am the traveler in the family.  However, the middle of summer is wedding season and tends to not be the best time for me to slip away.  Knowing she was safe with my husband was one thing, but hearing her wish me a happy birthday and hearing her voice was the greatest.

Most days technology kills me.  I want to throw my phone and computer out the window and run away from the world on a regular basis.  Last night, I was more thankful for technology than ever before.  it got me thinking about how technology has been used in positive ways for other events, not simply for communication.  When you know how to use all the available options, there is so much that can be helpful.  I fail on the knowing how to use bit - hence the throwing out of windows knee jerk reaction.  So, for all the brides getting married this year or next I did a little research.  I found a great groom who made technology work for his wedding.  I think it also made him enjoying the planning process a little more too so ladies task your groom with the technology pieces and get him planning right beside you!  I hope you enjoy the read:

http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2011/09/01/10-ways-technology-made-my-wedding-better-easier-and-more-fun/

We are his biggest fan

On June 19, 2012 the world lost an angel and heaven is dancing and singing as Mason Smedley received his wings.  Wings to fly, wings to dance, float, sing, and be in no pain.  Five years ago Mason's father Damon came to Abacus in need of tables and chairs.  The Smedley family had been working on a fundraiser in hopes of finding a cure for a disease called Juvenile Myositis which is a rare autoimmune disease that affects approximately 17,000 children and adults, and nearly 1,000 new cases are diagnosed in the US every year. JM causes a variety of debilitating symptoms including:

•   Muscle weakness and pain

•   Severe fatigue

•   Rashes

•   Swallowing and digestive difficulties

•   Lung and heart problems

•   Vasculitic ulcers

•   Calcinosis

Pauline and I were thrilled each year to support Mason and his family in the Cure JM event.  We looked forward to Damon's phone call each August.  The first year we took tables and chairs to the Hillsboro stadium and then delivered them the next day to the princess party in downtown Portland.  It was over 100 degrees and I got pinned in the back of the truck against the liftgate and with tables bearing down on me.  I kept waiting for some strong man to come and rescue me.  That princess party taught me how to properly secure my tables in the heat! 

I spent the day in Hillsboro Wednesday delivering chairs for Mason's memorial service.  The memories from the princess party fiasco, from setting up at the stadium each year and seeing it grow into a HUGE event, as well as Mason smiling at me in my little store front in Vancouver all washed over me.  Our event company has grown 100% year over year - but that first year when Mason showed up means the most to me.  It was all I could do not to burst into tears when I walked into our office at the grand opening and Damon and Mason were there with Abby.  They came all the way from Hillsboro to support my little dream.  That's the kind of family they are.  They show up.  They believe in miracles.  They love big, work hard, and don't take life for granted.  What a blessing to have been a witness to such a force.  Abacus now has a real working warehouse at a commercial building, an inventory that we can hardly contain, and we continue to grow.  I like to think it's because we invest in dreamers and we all dream together.  Thank you to the Smedley family for giving us an insight into your family and your dreams.  We will beat this thing!!!  http://www.curejm.com/

Pick Good Attendants

I have been in many weddings as a junior bridesmaid, a bridesmaid, a maid of honor, and then also a bride.  I have been present to witness hundreds of weddings to which I was on the sidelines as the event supplier.  One thing I notice that stands out is the attendants at the wedding - they can make or break the big day.  Pick your attendants carefully.  Pick them for who they are to you, but also how reliable they are for you and will be on your wedding day.  Pick the ones that will make you laugh when you want to cry, will lift you up when you fall down, will fix your hair and make up, and shower you will love.  Pick the ones that want nothing for you but that you shine.  Grooms, pick your BEST men.  Pick the ones who show up.  The ones who are not just there for your wedding, but will be there for the birth of your son.  The ones who will back you, laugh with you, and get you where you need to be on time and sober.  This is important.  You have one day to give your wife the best of you and the company you keep may impact what your best looks like.  If no matter what you want you end up going with the obligatory attendants (i.e. siblings, cousins) then at the very least make sure you pick your vendors well.  Pauline and I are also there when the bridal party breaks down - Abacus may go above and beyond when it comes to service, but choose wisely there are more of us out there than you realize.  The vendor who delivers your kegs, the vendor who sets up the room, the DJ, all of these people should be hired not only on their skill but also on the committment to YOUR day.  They need to be people invested in YOU. 

Little Reminders

Often times I find myself so busy going from one task to another that I question whether or not I am on the right track.  Should I slow down?  Do I have margin and balance in my life?  Is this a healthy pace?  All of these questions will pass through during the course of my running.  This week I had to collect a stage that I had rented to Mill Creek Pub.  I would have generally had a second set of hands for this task but I was alone.  As I walked into the restaurant I hear, "Donna"!  I look over and there sits my pastor Mark Newell and a friend of his at a table for lunch.  What luck - I tell him how happy I am to see him because I need help.  He and his friend walk the heavy stage to my truck.  I wonder what I did to deserve this kind of luck.  And what I have done to have these kind of people in my life.  People that get up from their lunch date to lift a heavy stage for me without a second thought.  I called the restaurant to pay for their lunch and the owner's response was, "don't worry about it - we are having them help us lift an oven so we are happy to buy their lunch". This blog is a little reminder to myself that all the running around, investing in others, and doing whatever it takes to run my business is the right thing for me.  I am on the right track and I have support from amazing community members like Mill Creek Pub and North Creek Church.  Community members who laugh when I need to pick up a stage on my own.  Community members who lift me up, hug me, and ultimately remind me that I am right where I need to be.  Additionally, I was able to meet with another community partner - Pacific Perks coffee.  Jim took time to talk shop with Pauline and I and we walked away with yet another connection to remind us that we are right where we are needed.  Thanks!

April Showers...

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day.  We played ball in the street, walked around the neighborhood and looked at the spring flowers - somehow we all just feel better when the sun comes out in the Northwest. 

I catch myself wondering if that euphoria would be so great if we didn't live in the Northwest.  If it were sunny all the time would we feel great all the time or would our bodies simply adjust to the environment?  Would I miss the gratitude I feel when I see the sunshine?  Growing up in the Northwest it's all we know that the sunshine is NEVER to be taken for granted.  When the sun comes out you better stop what you are doing and enjoy it. 

Weddings and events bring similar euphoria to the participants.  How excited are brides and grooms on their wedding day?  They have planned and prepared, tasted, organized, sized and are ready for the day.  Would they grow weary of that excitement if they got married every day?  Would there be less butterflies?  No butterflies?  If we had our weddings every day, renewed our vows every day - would we just make it part of our daily routine and not put the thought into it, or the excitement?  I wonder.  Of course, we don't get married every day.  We have THE day to plan for, commit to, execute, and build our butterflies around for this one perfect shot.  Surrounding yourself with amazing planners and professionals is key.  Your day should be like the last day of sunshine in the Northwest.  Stop everything you are doing and enjoy!  Below are some wonderful vendors that Abacus highly recommends:


http://www.luxeproductionsnw.com/

http://www.eastforkcellars.com/

http://www.aprilwilliamsphotography.com/

http://www.niellas.com/

The Rain and Weddings all come at once.

Haven't we enjoyed a beautiful fall/winter/spring in the northwest this year?  Lots of dry, sunny days so we don't turn into miserable hermits - it has been a wonderful year so far.  Of course I noticed that Abacus is booking wedding after wedding just as I look outside at the grey, damp, cold weather.  This spring northwest wheather is of course something we are very accustomed to - but it always catches me a little off guard.  Not because I don't expect it, but because it comes at the same time that our brides start getting quotes.  Just when I want to crawl in bed with a good book and turn on the fireplace, brides are getting excited for the sun to shine on their big day.  Congratulations to Emily who contacted us this week!  We are so excited for you.  It's going to be a wonderful day in September!  Here's to the sun shining for all our happy couples!!!

Congratulations from Abacus Event Rentals!